Excellent, Without a doubt!!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I'm not saying don't watch it, just be ready to experience the awkwardness and a lot of hysterical shouting throughout. And don't expect a high octane disaster like the title and pictures suggest. The whole thing is uncomfortable and awkward for two hours. There are also lots of random and unexplained events, but they were just playing out what happens on normal family holiday with no explanation or lead-up. It didn't help that I couldn't stand most of the cast of the film. I don't know if this was the intention when they made it or if it's just me!

In a society that is in constant change, sometimes it is difficult to know where your place is. And nowadays this feels harder than ever, with social networks, smartphones and constant connection to every corner of the world. So many things are happening that sometimes people are not sure about their position in society or family, or even what they are supposed to be and do. And this adjusting may be in particular hard for the ones that have been more privileged and have had more power. Not because they have lost privileges, but because they feel they are losing their position in the world, their prerogatives and rights. And it is hard for them to accept that.And that is what "Force Majeure" is about. A perfect family of four are having dinner in a restaurant when an avalanche happens. At first they take it as a thing to take pictures of and enjoy, a controlled avalanche. However little by little the avalanche comes closer to the restaurant... and the man decides to run for his life leaving his two children and wife behind.From that moment on we have a really engaging look on family, relationships, women and men's position on society and how difficult it is to the privileged to accept changes or their loss of power. By looking at a family, Östlund develops all these ideas in a subtle but never superficial way. The pace is slow and takes its time, but it never lets the viewer down and it adds little by little to the story. Some imaginary is too heavy-handed (like the toilet moments in particular), but in general the direction is spot on and all the moments have relevance to what is happening, with some touches of humor to stop the story to becoming too dark and broody."Force Majeure" is a really interesting movie.

How far can we trust each other in marriage? What kind of trust do we accept, or place? What happens when trust is put in jeopardy? Can you trust your life to your wife (or husband)? How do you know - truly know - either way? If trust is gone, what happens to any marriage ... or any relationship?What would you, I, anybody do when we lose the trust of our partner? Or vice-versa?Implicitly and explicitly, this story uses those issues as its thematic thrust, initiated by a seemingly close encounter - by a typical tourist family at a ski resort - with a controlled, snow-laden avalanche which, for a few terrifying seconds, comes too close to the restaurant setting where the family is having breakfast on the terrace. As the fog of snow and ice enveloped the family (along with other tourists), panic followed, immediately: the father, Tom (Kuhnke) grabbed his cell-phone etc to flee into the hotel, leaving his wife, Ebba (Kongsli) desperately clinging to and covering the daughter and son, Vera and Harry (both Wettergren), and screaming to Tom to come back to help. Blurred vision and screaming sound fade to ... white silence (as the snow fog thickens, but gradually dissipates as we watch).That's the heart-thumping action, all in two minutes or so. The rest of the story centers upon Tom and Ebba, mainly, as they warily discuss what happened, what each did, and why. Naturally, each holds a different story in their heads, a different perspective about what really went down - thus providing a number of opportunities for a goodly number of highly emotive exchanges. However, on the final day of their stay, after much personal to-and-fro angst, Tom unexpectedly proves his worth - or did he? - on their final downhill ski run, with Ebba and the children, during a white-out.A happy ending, or so we think as we watch them, next morning, boarding a bus to begin the homeward journey. It's here, however, that the screenwriter/director provides a third perspective - an all inclusive one, you could say - which balances the scales between Tom and Ebba, conclusively and categorically. It's an innovative end to this story - one which, I understand, caused some dissatisfaction for many viewers - but not the end of the issue. That's something we all have to live with, every day of our relationships.The acting is adequate if not Academy Award level; direction is competent; dialogue is realistic and appropriate; and the resort scenery, beautifully captured, is merely a prop. At two hours, it probably seemed too long for some, yet it held my interest without flagging because it's a story which demonstrates how trust is so hard to earn, so easy to lose, and almost impossible to win back.Recommended for all, including adolescents. Eight out of ten. July 24, 2017Copyright © 2017, Roger J. Burke. All rights reserved

With Ruben Östlund just having won the Palme d'Or for The Square, he could look back at Force Majeure as having given him a foot in the door for Cannes recognition. Watch out for the IMDb synopsis, giving the impression this is a survival story. It's nothing of the sort; the family are not actually in the avalanche, no one is harmed in what was a controlled avalanche. The key is that for a split second, it appears to get out of control, and the husband's reaction breaks down trust in his marriage. Force Majeure is essentially Scenes from a Marriage in the Snow, a marriage drama in which the wife struggles with abandonment issues, and the family could come apart. This, and some beautiful, striking photography are two key qualities of the film, though those out only for an action/survival story will not appreciate this.On the down side, Force Majeure does drag in parts; Östlund can't expect to be Ingmar. The end, with the bus, where the roles of wife and husband are reversed, does lack subtlety- yes, it turns out we don't know how we'll always react, and perceived brushes with death, however mistaken, will lurk behind every single corner. Still, it's obvious why Östlund would have established himself as a director to watch with this.